Many teachers have become dissatisfied with their jobs, leaving their school district or the field of education to purse other careers outside of education. Recently, teacher attrition has been a problem for schools in Tennessee. The shortage of teachers in Tennessee led to the elimination of the Teacher Performance Assessment by the Tennessee…

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic increased the demands of the already challenging teaching profession. This study sought to investigate if correlations existed among the perceptions of teachers' regarding job satisfaction, principal leadership behaviors and school climate using pre- and post-surveys. Survey data was collected from a target…

Teacher job satisfaction is important to retaining high-performing teachers. This study aims to investigate the effects of certain factors, such as age, gender, and years of experience, on overall job satisfaction. This study involved over 400 teachers from a West Tennessee school district, where the Job Satisfaction Survey was distributed. The…

Rural, economically disadvantaged students in Southern Appalachia experienced numerous situations that could negatively affect them socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically. Educators who routinely worked with rural, economically disadvantaged students should understand the difficulties these students experienced, as well as employ…

This quantitative, correlational study aims to determine if a predictive relationship exists between teacher perceptions of Tennessee's teacher evaluation and the linear combination of teacher gender, years of experience, and school-level taught (elementary, middle, high). Although teachers have recognized the current teacher evaluation system,…

This three-article dissertation examined the perceptions of school-based agricultural education teachers in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama on self-efficacy and professional development activities since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first article was an examination of teacher self-efficacy in delivering instruction in three classroom…

Over the past several years, states across the nation have seen a decline in the number of classroom teachers remaining in the profession. In November 2022, the Tennessee Department of Education launched work to begin a statewide Tennessee Teacher Retention Listening Tour to engage with Tennessee teachers across the state, hear their lived…

This phenomenological study captured the experiences of elementary educators with the purpose of gathering their perceptions of the use of restorative practices and positive behavior supports in their schools with a particular focus on how these programs influenced school climate, their professional efficacy, and their job satisfaction. Results of…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not evaluation practices found in a Tennessee school system impacted teachers' job satisfaction. School districts have difficulty retaining quality teachers because of discontentment in the professions. Teachers who are satisfied with their jobs tend to have a greater influence on student…

This mixed-methods study explored teacher pathway routes in a suburban Middle Tennessee school district. The researcher examined first-year teacher job competency, perceptions of preparedness, and first-year teacher self-efficacy in traditional and alternative preparation routes. Job competency evaluations and a first-year teacher survey was…

This mixed-methods study of visual art educators teaching in urban public school systems in Tennessee was designed to explore common conditions, experiences, and attitudes related to art teacher efficacy. The study examined relationships between aspects of teacher efficacy and voluntary participation in professional development. Common conditions…

Educational leaders throughout the United States have repeatedly emphasized the importance of increasing the number of Black and Latinx teachers in American schools. Prior qualitative work suggests that Black and Latinx teachers who are demographically isolated in their schools often report negative experiences. Drawing on theories of proportional…

Students with autism spectrum disorder is a growing population in classrooms that require specialized instructional strategies to meet their challenging and unique needs with behavior, academics, and socialization. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological research study was to understand the lived experiences of general and special…

Teacher leadership is important both within and beyond the school. Teacher leaders have the potential to expand their role beyond policy implementation in the classroom to influence educational policy development. However, few teachers receive explicit preparation or guidance for contributing their voice and providing first-hand knowledge of…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant relationship existed between the variable of teacher's self-reported perceptions of Response to Intervention (RTI) and self-reported implementation of RTI with years of teaching experience. RTI can be defined as high-quality classroom instruction supported by research-based interventions…